Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-10-22-Speech-3-152"
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"en.20031022.7.3-152"2
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"Mr President, ladies and gentlemen, first of all, I believe we should welcome the fact that the cause fought for by the abolitionists has become, in the space of a few decades, a few generations, one of the general public’s most passionate demands in the field of human rights. When in 1961, abolitionists such as Martin Luther King talked about abolishing the death penalty, it appeared to be a pipe-dream. The following generation – my own – was made aware of the issue as a result of the policy conducted in this area in France, when François Mitterrand and Robert Badinter abolished the death penalty in 1981.
We should also bear in mind that countries we thought would never abolish the death penalty so quickly, such as Turkey and various candidate countries, have succeeded in doing so, by showing some real political will, especially since our sitting in this Chamber in June 2001. I therefore believe that, as regards this issue, instead of talking about tactics, it would be infinitely preferable to talk about political convictions and the will to back up these convictions.
In fact, when our fellow Member, Mr Ari Vatanen, takes part in the Paris-Dakar rally wearing a badge that features the words ‘no death penalty’, he is raising the awareness of an entire continent. By the way, as Mrs Trautmann said, what is at stake is our ability to tame our instincts for revenge.
When we rally forces, we manage to save a Nigerian woman who had children outside marriage from the death penalty. I believe that if we rally forces again, we will be able to get a man named Mumia Abu-Jamal off death row. He has been imprisoned only because he is black, because he was a journalist, because he spoke out for those who have no voice and because he spoke out against the abuses perpetrated by Philadelphia’s racist police.
It is with all of these individuals in mind that I say today we should think carefully. As regards the death penalty, the colour at stake is not black or white, but the colour of blood. This is why, in my opinion, we must not extradite people to countries where we know they can expect the death penalty. In particular, it upsets me to think about our fellow citizens currently in Guantanamo, because we do not know what their fate might be. Ladies and gentlemen, what is needed is political will, not tactics."@en1
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